I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: sorry for the delay. On a last minute business trip and this needed much tweaking. I hope this chapter meets expectations; it was difficult to bring together just so. My thanks to Fifilla and CinderH for such patience!

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

Chapter Twenty-two

The following day found Danny in precisely the same straits. Awake and aware, he was already frustrated in not only his sickness, but the perpetually flat physical position he was forced to lay in, doubly entrapped by the strict neck brace. He had been about to thumb the call button when he'd received a very unexpected visitor at the best possible moment. It was apparent that Steve didn't actually have permission to be out of bed though for his covert quickness and vain attempts to hide his ragged coughing.

"You shouldn't be here." Danny's voice would be hoarse and his lungs congested for days yet to come but the harsh cough continually rattled his neck and aching head mercilessly. He squinted through the pain as Steve stifled a cough and held up his hand as way of argument.

"Five minutes. I'll go back." Similarly to Danny's growing complaints, Steve was having difficulty staying bedridden even though he felt as if he was about to choke up a lung. He'd be thrilled if medicine could find a way to remove his lungs and subsequently wash and rinse them out for reinsertion to his body.

"It's bad enough .. that I hurt .. so much." With a distinct effort, he whispered his plea through the oxygen mask while gripping the side of the bedrail. In just a few short hours, Danny felt as if he would go crazy for lack of movement and the helpless, stranded feeling where he could only blindly stare straight up at the ceiling. "But .. I can't stay like this, Steve."

"Yes, you can and actually .. you have to." Having gone AWOL from his bed, absconded with a wheelchair, and then having abandoned said chair after getting from point A, his bed, to point B, Danny's room, Steve was leaning over him now. He kept looking over his shoulder for either Doctor Ramirez or some nurse who undoubtedly would be looking for him within the next few minutes. There would be an inquisition and then hell to pay for his illicit gamble. Having removed not only his own IV and more typical oxygen mask, he was due for another chest x-ray and was on the lam.

Until then, Steve sighed in understanding as he placed what he hoped was a soothing hand on Danny's shoulder. The room had been too close and the temptation too strong. However, Steve had felt relatively fine until he got moving. The activity made him feel woozy and very unsteady and he pushed down his own sick feeling resolutely. A few minutes wouldn't matter ... he wouldn't stay long. But as he looked down at his partner, he was dismayed that Chin had been so right because Danny did look awful.

Steve's throat was just as rough and raspy with lungs equally stressed and congested. Barely above a whisper, he was breathless as he tried to offer Danny some sort of comfort. "You're going to be alright. Doc is worried about the muscle spasms in your neck and shoulders. You have a bad concussion and he needs you to hang in there a bit longer."

Sweat dotted Danny's forehead as he argued against being able to last even another torturous second. "Nope. Can't."

"Stop being so negative." Trying to answer lightly, Steve didn't like the heat or tremble he could feel under his hand. His partner was truly stressed about his predicament. "Just relax. You need to try and stay relaxed."

"Says you who can stand." It didn't matter that Steve was breaking the rules. The issue was that he could and even though he was extremely relieved for the impromptu visit, that fact was beginning to upset Danny even more. Is only relief was that Steve hadn't suffered more damage himself after such a recent recovery from the prior fall.

"But .. really .. you should go back." Danny insisted it again as frustration and exasperation covered his tone as he tried to will himself to stay calm. Weary and ill, Danny pleaded with Steve only ten seconds later when he remained leaning over the bed. "Ask him again. I just want to sit up and I want out of this contraption."

"Doc said tomorrow and you know he won't change his mind." The severe concussion was a big part of the concern and Ramirez was moving slowly in his usual conservative fashion. Their thick gravelly voiced, soft argument went on for minutes on end until Steve's voice simply failed and he borrowed Danny's ice to soothe his throat. The muffled sound of ice upon ice in the small paper cup sparked another disagreement.

"Hey. Get your own." Petulant squeaks rounded on Steve for daring to take the small cup. The defensive retort about something as minor as taking ice, was just that ... prickly and utterly uncaring of Danny's annoyed raspy complaint.

"Get over it, Danno. I needed it now and it was just going to melt. We can get more. It's free you know." There was a disgusted half snort, another cough and more rattling of the small chips in the cup. The room quieted for a millisecond as Steve sucked on the ice and got his breath back under control. Neither of them felt well and what seemed like a good idea at the time was now tiring and wearing on both of them. Steve made a face as his partner's hand flapped on his chest.

"It's mine .. you didn't even ask. And now ... you've contaminated my .. spoon." Then Danny's voice quit and he screwed his eyes tightly closed as a tickle closed his throat. The resulting cough, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, shook his head and neck. It left him panting and miserably unable to open his tearing eyes as his headache skyrocketed again.

Patiently, Steve waited with the smallest ice chip he could find poised over Danny's face. "Ready?" There was no nod of course, just a garbled affirmative and Steve obliged him as he helped move the mask first. Seconds passed before Danny's reddened face returned to a more acceptable color and the pained tears eased.

"I can't." His eyes were glassy with exhaustion when they opened slowly to stare blindly straight up at the plain white ceiling. "Raise the bed for me. I really .. really can't stay like this, Steve."

Steve hung his head dismally, even though a small smile peeked out from the corners of his mouth as the round robin discussion started all over again. "Yes, you can." It was going to be a very, very long week. He saw the deep swallow and winced in sympathy when Danny did, for the pain in his head and neck. The backdraft had created a terrible set of injuries on top of the smoke inhalation.

"You know I can't do that, Danny. Any changes you insist on are going to be a mistake. A painful mistake and no, I'm not going to be party to it."

"It's impossible." But Danny only rattled the bed frame by pulling on the rail. He was almost annoyed by Steve's attempt to make him feel better and yet, refusal to help him. "It's not going to work. I can't do it."

"Danny." Steve sighed his name out softly and shook his head because his hands were tied and he needed to sit down himself. His voice broke from the strain of talking too much and he was barely audible. "Get some sleep .. try to sleep."

Not entirely surprised to find Steve's hospital bed empty, Kono tracked him down easily enough to Danny's room. She knew Chin would find them once he came up from the cafeteria and another visit to check the status of Michael Jameson's own dire condition. The two cousins had a lot to fill them in on related to both son and father. Standing in the doorway now, she was shaking her own head in stunned disbelief. The repertoire was fascinating as it went round and round to circle back to its identical starting point.

She could only see Steve's hunched shoulders and an occasional wave of Danny's hand from his bedridden position. Both coughed heavily which made hearing parts of their conversation quite difficult. She could only barely make out some words here and there; the whispers were so softly muffled and Danny's face was covered by an oxygen mask, so Kono was really missing most of it. In fact, she couldn't precisely understand if they were talking nicely or arguing, and she was still worried about the latter being the case.

"... changes you insist on ... a mistake. A ... mistake ...I'm not going to be ..."

"... impossible ... not going to work. ... can't do it."

"Come on, guys." Her eyes showed their worry when she caught fragments of Steve's words and then Danny's. They were talking about changes, mistakes and it sounded as if Danny wasn't going to be able to cope with Steve's partnership. Kono hugged her arms to her body as she murmured to herself. She desperately needed Chin to intervene as she stared uncertainly at her friends. "No way."

She was about to enter the room when she felt a large hand envelope her shoulder. The stern squeeze was a gentle message to remain quiet as Doctor Ramirez loomed almost angrily. His presence was overwhelming and changed the feeling almost instantly. Kono was forced to alter her plans as Ramirez walked around her to enter the room. Behind him was a nurse carrying a soft cervical collar and other supplies that were obviously intended for Danny.

Danny saw Steve's face while Kono read his change in posture. "What's wrong?" Danny growled out softly. His brow was pinched and he swallowed hard against the sharp gravelly feeling in his throat. The dramatic wince communicated what Danny couldn't quite see or sense yet, but he guessed it correctly. Doctor Ramirez had arrived. "Caught?"

"Yup." Steve made a face to confirm that fact and Danny blinked up as the large shadow covered Steve and then his own bed. His lips was still bent in an odd half-apologetic smile as he sank into the wheelchair. "What's up, Doc?"

He tried to make it funny, but it fell flat especially when the big doctor wasn't even remotely interested in basic civilities at that point. "I was just leaving .. after checking .. on Danny."

Steve stared up at Ramirez through a choked series of muffled coughs. In one hand, the doctor had a syringe and in the other what looked like towels and chemical ice packs. The nurse was definitely carrying a smaller, softer foam cervical collar. Danny was at least going to get one of his wishes. He opened his mouth to add how his partner would be appreciating the coming therapy. Steve could only close it without uttering a word after giving the doctor a sick, little shrug when the man's face became much more severe.

"I'll go." Steve used his feet to roll the wheelchair back and then finally saw Kono. "She'll help .. I'll go and Kono will help." Wordlessly, Ramirez stared back as Steve and Kono left the room; Steve perhaps in a much more self-conscious rush. With just a look towards his nurse, the woman placed her supplies on the small table, and then left his side to ensure the SEAL made it back into his own bed safely.

Ramirez turned back to Danny and cocked his head to stare at his patient. He pursed his lips and sighed at the somewhat comical but stressed expression since Danny had easily guessed the mood, but could see little of what was intended. "What are you doing?" Danny asked.

Without at first answering, Ramirez began to remove the bulky hard collar and Danny's eyes widened in relief. It was gently removed as Ramirez skillfully placed the ice packs where he wanted them around Danny's neck and shoulders.

"I don't want your muscles to seize even more. We're going to try a few things." His explanation was as brief and simple as the treatment. He explained the limited use of the new collar for the next few days. An injection of lidocaine would numb his painful muscles to relieve the spasms associated to the injury. The ice packs were the coup de grace though and Danny nearly melted when Ponch began to position them.

"Oh, god." Danny couldn't help the honest moan of relief as the ice was rested against his most sore muscles. He blinked his eyes and closed them as Ponch quietly puttered around with the most basic of treatments to his patient's utter contentment. He barely noticed the time lapse or the small sting of the lidocaine injection as he dozed around small coughs. He roused briefly for the new cervical collar which was by far, a big improvement to what he'd previously been inflicted with.

"Just a small change." Ramirez murmured as he raised the bed on the most slight of angles. It was hardly a major difference but he didn't want to do too much to strain the newly easing muscles or negatively affect the symptoms of concussion. However, Danny never heard or noticed as he fell peacefully asleep. With a soft puff of pleased sound, Ramirez smiled as he shoved his hands characteristically in his pockets to finger the pen he had there.

"Now, let's go see that partner of yours." Turning sharply on his heel, Danny never heard the man's parting words. "

~ to be continued ~